The following is a list of the NBA's top five highest salaried teams. (And thanks to Hoopsworld.com for providing the data).

Hoopsvibe's quick call: This list proves that the best team isn't always the one that spends the most money.

1.) The Los Angeles Lakers - $102,256,438

Point and case. The Lakers may have the largest payroll in the league but their current record is the worst on this list. The organization kept busy this offseason and when they acquired both Dwight Howard and Steve Nash, it was looking like the purple and gold were the team to beat. And indeed, they have been the team to beat. Yes, it's still early in the season, but having won only three games with their expensive lineup is pretty embarrassing. Let's hope the recent hiring of Mike D'Antoni turns things around.

2.) The Miami Heat - $87,595,822

It shouldn't come as much of a shock that the Heat are number 2 on this list. They pretty much cleared out their books a few years ago to make sure there was enough cap space for Lebron James, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade to be on the roster. And as it turns out, that was a good idea. Micky Arison, Pat Riley and company made a good decision in doing so seeing that the Heat are the defending NBA Champions and are currently sitting at the top of their division.

3.) The New York Knicks - $82,010,527

The Knicks could quite possibly be the surprise of the season so far. J.R. Smith is posting career numbers, averaging 18.2 points per game. Raymond Felton is averaging 14 points and 6.2 assists while Carmelo Anthony's 26.8 ppg leads the league in scoring. As a result, they're 5-0; all the while Amare Staudemire has been on the bench with knee injury. Who knows if they'll keep it up, but it will certainly be interesting to see how they play with Amare back in the lineup.

4.) The Brookyln Nets - $83,511,726

The NBA's newest team are 4-2 to start the season. They have a new stadium in the Barclays Center and with Deron Williams, Brooks Lopez, Kris Humphries and Joe Johnson on their payroll, they certainly have a few expenses. But if they continue to win games, those expenses most likely won't be much of an issue.

5.) The Memphis Grizzlies - $77,098,154

I was pretty surprised when Memphis came in at #5 on this list. I would have thought Boston, or San Antonio, or even Oklahoma City would have been ahead of the Grizz. Then again, they do have Rudy Gay, Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol on their roster. Those three guys alone take up about $47 million of the payroll. And for good reason; they combine for over 51 points per game.

Would AK-47 turn his back on Russia to rejoin the NBA? Fresh off being named the Euroleague's 2012 MVP, he is reportedly considering a return to the NBA.

HoopsVibe Very Quick Call: It isn't a question of if or when he will return to the NBA, but how much money it will take to get him back.

At one time Kirilenko was one of the most well rounded, efficient players in the entire league. At 6-9 and as a former 1st team All-NBA defensive player, his career averages speak to his versatility: 12.4 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 2.8 apg, 2.0 bpg, 1.4 spg all while shooting 47% from the floor, 31% from three and 76% from the line made him a rare talent and defensive nightmare for opposing teams.

AK left the US to play in Russian prior to last season . Even though he has 10 years of NBA experience under his belt, he is just 31 years old and has plenty of good run left.

Today, Kirilenko told a group of reporters what his plans for the upcoming season potentially consisted of. "I want to decide my new team before the Olympics. There are several options in the NBA, but the final choice has not been made yet."

Kirilenko also told a Russian news outlet the following, further hyping his return: "I'll continue my career in the NBA. Which club in particular, we'll know in a day or two."

Rumors are swirling that the Brooklyn Nets would have an advantage seeing as how fellow countryman Mikhail Prokhorov owns teh squad. And in some capacity, PG Deron Williams is trying to convince Kirilenko that he is the missing piece for a championship run.

But would he really accept the veteran's minimum (which is all the Nets can offer) to play in Brooklyn? Even though the new NBA trend is for veteran stars in search of a ring to take lower money in hopes of corralling a championship, it sure seems unlikely, considering the money he can get from other interested teams, most notably the Minnesota Timberwolves and Golden State Warriors.

The Nets have reportedly entered into contract talks with their own Brook Lopez.

Hoopsvibe Very Quick Call: It's now or never for Dwight Howard to Brooklyn Nets deal.

Lopez, a restricted free agent, is reportedly talking to the Nets about a max deal; either 4 years for $58 million or 5 years for $78 million. The other thing to consider is that if another team puts in an offer to Lopez, he can't be part of a trade to another team. Also, if he doesn't agree to a sign and trade it would stop a deal for Howard until December 15th, because that is when players who signed with teams in the offseason can be traded.

Believe it or not, the Howard to Nets saga has been going on for about a year now. If it doesn't go down now, how awkward would it be for him to spend the season in Orlando? Speaking of awkward, if the Nets are forced to rely on their own "in-house" guy in Lopez, would that make things weird and screw up chemistry? Either way the Nets need a back-up plan in case they don't actually trade for Howard, and Lopez is it.

But how much worse would that be? Or, would it even be bad at all? We all know Lopez missed all but five games last season due to a foot injury, which is never what you want to have your big man suffer through (see Rik Smits, Yao Ming). But when healthy, Lopez has produced, with career averages of 17.4 ppg, 7.5 rpg and 1.6 bpg. But obviously, Lopez is nowhere close to the defensive player Howard is, or the rebounder. But he is a solid big man.

The other question is, if the Nets do actually get Howard, are their enough basketballs to go around to keep everyone happy? Joe Johnson has to shoot a lot to be productive. Deron Williams likes to score as much as any PG in the league. Gerald Wallace likes to score. Howard needs to be the center of attention at all times, so even though he's saying he wants to go to the Nets, could he even handle being an after thought on the offensive side? How long would it take for him to complain about that?

If Dwight Howard going to the Nets has any chance of happening, it's going to have to happen NOW.